I'm not here to lose weight, I'm here to get healthy

Sunday, August 11, 2013

I am so frustrated! I am here to try to get moving again. I had spinal surgery In January to remove a tumor and now am stiff, sore, and live in pain or discomfort. There is a lot of good information on here, but I need help and support with my physical issues, not my eating. Everywhere I go it talks about tracking my food, drinking my water It's summer harvest/farmers market time of year so I know I'm eating okay.... I have found some great work outs, I love, love, love Nicoles three minute upper body stretch. Where do I go on this gigantic site to find a group of people who's #1 goal is to get their body moving again? I was in physical therapy but my insurance only allows so many visits so I am on my own for the rest of the year. Once I accomplish the physical stuff that I am confident I will lose the weight I need to shed.

Hey, quick follow up - I found a few teams that might interest you. One is called Spine Injuries and General Back Pain, another is Head, Brain, or Spine Surgery, a third is Team Back Surgery, and Chronic Pain, and then there's a Back Care with Yoga. Give them a look-see!

I'm not sure if there are specific teams, but try doing a search for "recovery," "back," or "rehabilitation" (or similar) on the SparkTeams page and see if any post-surgery sites come up. I understand your frustration. Not to direct you away from Spark, but if you're on Facebook, you might find some pages dedicated to people recovering from spinal surgery. I'm on one for people with the specific hip problem I had surgery for - it's a great resource!

Not knowing what your limitations might be from your surgery, I can't really give you movement advice. But I can tell you what happened with me. My physical therapy lasted about 7 months, and was a steady progression of range of motion and strength-related exercises, then when I could raise my leg without using my arms to help it, I got to start light cardio again. You probably have a list of exercises you were doing in physical therapy - those should be safe to continue with.

After my knee surgery, physical therapy didn't work. I got discharged to continue the exercises on my own, but I never improved. I nearly gave up hope of ever walking right again, and decided to try swimming and elliptical at the gym. Water exercise can be very therapeutic. Over time, I gained leg strength back and was able to move back onto dry land (took about 6 months). You have the right attitude! Just keep moving and progressing one day at a time and eventually you will regain your strength.